<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>chasing pavements by lil_sauce</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25809064">chasing pavements</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_sauce/pseuds/lil_sauce'>lil_sauce</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!, ハイパープロジェクション演劇「ハイキュー!!」| Hyper Projection Play "Haikyuu!!" RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji Needs a Hug, Akaashi Keiji in Love, Akaashi Keiji-centric, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Audio Format: MP3, BokuAka Week, BokuAka Week 2020, Bokuto Koutarou is a Mess, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Music, M/M, Music, Oblivious Bokuto Koutarou, POV Akaashi Keiji, Pining, References to Adele (Musician), Singing, Song: Take Me To Church (Hozier), Songfic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:27:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,724</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25809064</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_sauce/pseuds/lil_sauce</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For months now, Keiji Akaashi has taken out his emotions by singing in the Fukurodani Boys' Volleyball Gym at the top of his lungs during unholy hours of the night.</p><p>One day, the team records this, unknowingly, and hears his beautiful voice.  However, none of them know who's it is.</p><p>Except for Bokuto Koutarou.</p><p>[AKA: the one where akaashi's a pretty good singer but also really sad]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>86</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bokuaka, Bokuaka Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>chasing pavements</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Keiji Akaashi arrived at Fukurodani Acadamy’s gym at 4:30.  Being the vice captain of the team, he had keys, so he opened the door and walked into the dark gym.  Nobody was there yet, mainly because practice wasn’t for another few hours, but that was fine.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Akaashi walked into the gym under the protection of the stars, he didn’t turn on the lights.  He just walked into the middle of the gym floor and stood there.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Look at how beautiful it is at night,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Akaashi thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why does everyone sleep through it?  It’s so calm and serene… more people should appreciate it, like I do.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi took a deep breath and started singing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh yeah</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t need permission</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Made my decision to test my limits.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His nervous, whispery voice was slowly growing louder and more confident as he sang, slowly gaining power and confidence like an accelerating car.  He could feel the gym echoing his voice, a nervous whisper growing into a song.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Cause it’s my business</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>God as my witness</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Start what I finished.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The timidness in Akaashi’s voice was starting to fade away, replacing itself with a stronger, more assertive version of the same voice.  He grew louder and more confident with each word that came from his mouth, more secure, </span>
  <em>
    <span>more free.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t need to hold up</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Taking control of the kind of moment.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m locked and loaded,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Completely focused, my mind is open.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi’s nervous demeanor in his voice from thirty seconds ago was completely gone at this point, replaced with a strong, demanding belt that echoed throughout the whole gym, with nobody around to hear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“All that you got, skin to skin, oh my God,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t ya stop, boy.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His voice rang out, powerfully, and echoed in the empty, dark gym for a moment, bouncing off of the walls for a while before fading away.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck it,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Akaashi thought to himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he started belting at the top of his lungs, with as much power as he could contain into sounding beautiful at the same time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Somethin’ ‘bout you makes me feel like a dangerous woman,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout you,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Makes me wanna do things that I shouldn’t,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout… ”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Images of Koutarou Bokuto flashed in his mind as he sang, the guy that he couldn’t stop thinking of.  He was scared to think about him, yes, but he was also scared not to.  By using music to release his emotions when nobody was around, he kept himself in check during the day.  The thing is, sneaking out like this was addictive to Akaashi.  This was the third time this week that he’s done this, and it was only Wednesday.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His morning “adventures” had been going on for months now, starting from once every month or two, to every other week, to weekly, and recently, multiple times a week.  In a couple weeks, he would probably end up doing this every morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Music was a drug to Keiji Akaashi, and he was hooked.  Bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, Akaashi started to walk around the dark gym quietly and carefully, pushing his power into the ground that he walked on, letting it reverberate in the floorboards of the gym that he called a second home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He continued yelling/singing through the second verse and chorus with the same energy walking around a little bit as he did so.  He took every step with conviction, sang every note with the passion of a thousand stars, and channeled all of his energy into this one moment in time, where nothing else mattered.  He was alone with his voice, drowning out the fears and struggles in the world around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the bridge, his voice quieted a bit, like the calm before the final wave of the storm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“All girls wanna be like that,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bad girls underneath like that,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You know how I’m feeling inside.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>All girls wanna be like that,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Bad girls underneath like that,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You know how I’m feeling inside.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hummed the little guitar solo that went in this part of the song, playing air guitar as well, for a little bit, before starting to laugh.  He tried his best to keep going through the laughs, the tears streaming down his face, singing little bits of it, “du duu duuuuud duu” as he went.  His laughter eventually went out of control and he couldn’t keep going with that.  So he paused for a moment to re-compose himself.  He took a deep breath and wiped away the small amount of tears that started to trickle down his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he let his voice flow with a steady force in the best way that he could.  One voice, one heart, and one soul, all in tune with the world around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he kept going, the loudest he has had yet to be, into the rest of the song.  The fire and passion in his voice was immeasurable.  The amount of energy and conviction in every note was the strongest that Akaashi could muster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once the final chorus ended, he quietly went into the final refrain of the song.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout you,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout you…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He takes out his phone, sliding past the lock screen, a team photo of them on an ice cream run, and opens Spotify.  He scrolls down his list of playlists and clicks on one titled “for homework” and presses the “play” button, before quickly pausing it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sets up the music so that the lyrics are quieter but the backtrack is loud by fiddling with the output levels of different sound frequencies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He goes back and presses play on “Habits” by Tove Lo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the lyrics come in and Akaashi starts singing, he starts to walk around with the beat and sings to the ceiling as a call to whoever’s watching him from above for what he wants: to be loved back by the one person he loves. He croons with the passion and pining energy that he’s repressed in himself for a long time. He just wants love, </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> love.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I gotta stay high all the time,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>To keep you off my mind</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>High all the time,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>To keep you off my mind</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh,”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He just can’t stop thinking about him, and he’s tried.  God knows he’s tried, but he can’t, images of </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, his favorite person, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Koutarou</span>
  </em>
  <span>, flash in his mind constantly on loop.  His star, the protagonist of the world, </span>
  <em>
    <span>him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But Akaashi knows he doesn’t have a chance with him.  Odds are, one, he’s straight, and two, even if he was into men, he probably wouldn’t like him back.  Or at least that’s what Akaashi constantly convinced himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He just felt like he was out of Bokuto’s league.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Spending my days lock in a haze,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Tryna forget you, babe,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I fall back down</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Gotta stay high all my life,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>To forget I’m missing you.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi kept singing through the whole song with similar energy, calling for his love to be reciprocated, even though he knows deep down that that probably won’t happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A guy can dream, can’t he?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The next hour was spent with Akaashi singing constantly, but also taking breaks every few songs to just rest and think for a song or two, laying on the cold gym floor with his limbs spread out as much as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, the time reached 5:40am.  Practice was in twenty minutes.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>One more song,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Akaashi thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Chasing Pavements” by Adele played through his phone, and Akaashi stayed laying down for a while, still tired out from his earlier singing, which included songs like “7 Years,” “History,” “Take Me to Church,” and “Fuyu No Hanashi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Adele’s voice came in, Akaashi quietly started singing the first verse of the song as he sat up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>I've made up my mind</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don't need to think it over</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If I'm wrong I am right</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don't need to look no further</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This ain't lust</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I know this is love.</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bent his legs into a comfortable position and continued singing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>But, if I tell the world</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I'll never say enough</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Cause it was not said to you</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And that's exactly what I need to do</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If I'm in love with you,”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of his emotions were released again in one fell swoop, taking over Akaashi and coming into the surface, where they seldom got to be.  He yell-sang through the chorus with a twang of loneliness that came out in the way he sang in this song specifically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Should I give up</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Or should I just keep chasing pavements?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Even if it leads nowhere</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Or would it be a waste?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Even If I knew my place should I leave it there?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Should I give up</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Or should I just keep chasing pavements?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Even if it leads nowhere...”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just then, he heard people walking to the lot.  He quickly paused the song and went out of the gym around the back door, sneaking around the side of the gym to the front.  He hoped nobody would see him sneaking around, or else they’d get suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi was able to beat all of them to the gym door to act like he was unlocking it, as he had done many times before.  He re-entered the gym and turned on the lights.  After that, he went to the equipment room to grab the net and set up for practice like nothing happened, like he didn’t just release all of his emotions for the past hour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he was setting up the net, he saw Konoha reach into the bleachers and pull out a recorder.  Akaashi panicked.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Do they have a recording of me singing?  That can’t get out to people… is he going to blackmail me with it or something?  That would be awful…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is that?” Akaashi yelled towards Konoha.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A tape recorder.  There’s a rumor going around that people have sex in here at night and I wanted to record it!” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re disgusting,” Akaashi replied, shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m playing it to everyone after practice,” Konoha replied.  “I asked my older brother who knows about technology stuff to hook it up to a noise sensor so it’d start recording whenever it picked up noise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to hear that,” Akaashi replied. “But I’ll probably get out-voted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is what it is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Practice went normally with no odd occurrences, as it should.  After their coach left, the boys of Fukurodani Acadamy’s Boys’ Volleyball Team congregated in the locker room to see if Konoha’s scheme actually worked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It did, just not in the way that they planned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lyrics to the songs that Akaashi was singing just a few hours ago rang out through the tape recorder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Somethin’ ‘bout you makes me feel like a dangerous woman,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout you,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Makes me wanna do things that I shouldn’t,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout, somethin’ ‘bout… ”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi is taken aback at how his voice sounds. It feels foreign to him when he’s not actually singing with it.  He doesn’t like it, but he has to listen to it in order to not make people suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn, this is good!” Washio said over the singing. “Whoever sang this is insane.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm… ” Bokuto trailed off as he tried to think about where he heard that voice from before.  He glanced over at Akaashi, who seemed a little panicked by the voice at first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that he thought about it, odds are that the voice he was hearing was Akaashi.  It sounded similar to his voice, but not quite the same because he was singing.  It had the same energy as Akaashi’s but stronger and not as repressed as it was before.  It was like Akaashi’s voice became unhinged and free when he sang.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto was in awe of what he was hearing.  Assuming this was Akaashi’s voice, which it probably was, one of his favorite people ever had the voice of an angel.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He made it a personal goal to hear Akaashi sing in person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A few weeks later, on a select morning, Akaashi drove to the gym early again like he had done so many days before.  It was a normal early-morning singing session day for him, but he probably wouldn’t be crooning his emotions out today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi planned on making today more of a lighthearted day where he just sang a few songs that he thought were fun to sing.  They weren’t necessarily love songs, but sometimes they could be if the shuffling system worked out that way.  He just wanted to sing for fun, not to release any emotional baggage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shuffled a playlist titled “for fun” and started singing, but little did he know that Bokuto was sitting outside the gym door listening to Akaashi’s lovely singing voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto sat down on the grass next to the gym wall and leaned the side of his head against the wall, putting his ear against the gym wall. He was able to hear a quieted version of Akaashi singing where his voice was still well-preserved in terms of its sound and beauty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It started with a whisper,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And that was when I kissed her,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And then she made my lips hurt.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I could hear the chit chat,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Take me to your love shack,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Mamas always gotta back track,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>When everybody talks back.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the most beautiful thing Bokuto had heard in a long time, and the source of the voice was only a wall away.  He was fighting every urge he had to go through the gym door and start yelling at Akaashi that he was amazing, perfect, and had a beautiful voice.  His leg was bouncing up and down, trying to get him to move, but Bokuto bit his lip and kept himself from getting up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, on the other side of the brick wall, Akaashi sat in the middle of the empty, dark gym, singing loudly and freely.  His obligation to be a quiet, stoic, studious child was gone, and all that was left was him and how </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> saw himself.  Akaashi not only got to let his feelings flow during his early-morning concerts, but he also got to do something he’s always liked doing: sing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi had been in choir during most of middle school, but he stopped because of two reasons.  One, he didn’t like the people in the Fukurodani Choir.  They didn’t mesh well with him, and he didn’t mesh will with him.  He felt really out of place there, and the choir director was a bit of a creep.  He’d make these weird remarks to some of the girls his year about their appearance and it made most of the choir really uneasy, but Akaashi for some reason couldn’t stand it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In addition, volleyball took up so much of Akaashi’s time that he couldn’t do anything else.  He wanted to be the best he could at the sport.  It was something he enjoyed doing, and it didn’t have people he didn’t like or a creepy director/coach like the choir did.  It also helped that Bokuto was there, for sure.  Having someone who shined as bright as him on the court was a big mood-booster, especially during days where Akaashi just wasn’t feeling his best.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that’s why Akaashi feels different about Bokuto than he would about anyone else on the team.  He thinks of Bokuto as a friend, yes, but also something more.  He sees Bokuto as something of a beacon, a star, that Akaashi can always lean on for a kind remark or a positive comment.  He always found himself wanting to spend more and more time with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bokuto was still on the other side of the wall, still fighting the urge to go to the other side of it and just hug Akaashi for no reason at all.  From the second he first met Akaashi a little bit over a year ago, he was always obsessed with him for some reason.  His mind always dwelled on Akaashi, whether it be his hair, eyes, skin, talent, or personality.  Something about him always had Bokuto reeled in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t that long ago that Bokuto realized what that feeling was, and what it meant.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I want to tell him so bad, that he sounds amazing, that I think </span>
  </em>
  <span>he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing, everything.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Where do I start?  How do I go about it?  Do I just go in and scare him?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto took a moment to gather himself and make a plan.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m going to say that I had to grab something that I realized I left in the gym last night… my phone! I’ll say that I woke up early because I forgot it was here and I need to charge it before school!  Yeah, that’s a good plan.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto gathered his courage, stood up, and walked over to the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He opened the doors.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Never thought I'd live</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>To see the day</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>When everybody's words got in the--”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bokuto-san?” Akaashi asked. “What are you doing here?  It’s,” he glanced at his phone to check the time. “5:15.  Practice isn’t for forty-five minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about you, Akaashi?  What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing of your business,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sounded good, Akaashi.” Bokuto started to walk over towards him as he spoke. “I mean amazing.  You sounded amazing.  I didn’t hear that much,” he lied. “But what I heard was so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span>, good.  You never told me you sang!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don't,” Akaashi replied. “We never had this conversation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi stood up and walked out of the gym with his bag on his shoulder. “I’m going now,” he said. “I’ll be back when practice starts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>C’mon, Kou, think of something.  Fast.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, since you’re here, can you toss for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi paused.  “Sure,” he replied after a moment. “Let’s do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked back towards Bokuto and started to put on his knee pads and court shoes, and Bokuto did the same.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t tell anyone about what you saw, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto looked straight into Akaashi’s eyes. “Don’t worry,” he replied. “I won’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the two stepped onto the court and started stretching, Bokuto took it upon himself to ask Akaashi about his singing, given that nobody else was around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Akaashi, how long have you been singing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A while,” he replied quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you ever do choir?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Church choir when I was younger.” He paused for a moment. “I also did it in junior high as well.  Did you do anything like that ever, Bokuto-san?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I played percussion for a bit when I was younger.  Drums and stuff, but nothing as hard as singing,” Bokuto replied. “That seems super hard to do sometimes, but you make it sound easy, Akaashi.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi’s face turned a light shade of pink and smiled. “Thank you, Bokuto-san.  I bet you don’t sound that bad yourself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I sound awful when I sing,” Bokuto said with a laugh. “You wouldn’t want to hear me sing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do now.” Akaashi pulled out his phone. “What song do you want to sing, Bokuto-san?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” he replied. “I haven’t sang in front of people in a while...”</span>
</p><p><span>“I’ll just press shuffle and you can sing whatever comes on if you know it.  Tell me to keep going if you don’t know the song.”</span><span><br/>
</span> <span>Akaashi opened Spotify and shuffled “for fun.” As Bokuto sang “Count on Me,” he stumbled over his words all the time during the verses and lost track of his place a lot, but he was able to come up with a similar tune and match pitch with the singer.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can count on me like one two three</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I'll be there</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You'll be there</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the song faded out, Bokuto smiled and started looking at Akaashi with a longing look in his eyes, looking for a compliment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How was that Akaashi?  I sucked, didn’t I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you were fine,” Akaashi replied. “You were able to keep pitch with the parts where you actually knew the lyrics.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ve never been good at memorizing song lyrics,” Bokuto trailed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Bokuto-san.  You can learn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The conversation fizzled out as Bokuto and Akaashi stood up and began to walk over to get a volleyball from the equipment room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What time is it?” Bokuto asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi glanced at his phone again. “5:30.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you sing a song for me, Akaashi?” Bokuto asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi stopped in his tracks.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What do I do?</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How do I answer that?  I want to sing for him, but I also don’t want anyone else to hear me sing…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto spoke again. “You don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable; I’m not trying to pressure you into singing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure that it's ok?  I really don’t feel like singing right now,” Akaashi replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course! Maybe you could sing for me another time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That afternoon, after school ended before volleyball practice, Akaashi texted Bokuto.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Akaashi:</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> Hey, Bokuto-san.  Do you wanna go over to the park tonight and just hang out after practice?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Bokuto-san:</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> sure!!! At like 7:30-ish??</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Akaashi:</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> Works for me</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Bokuto-san:</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> :D</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Akaashi smiled to himself.  He wasn’t really sure if he was going to call this a date, mainly because Bokuto didn’t seem aware that it was, but maybe he was going to finally have the courage to change that.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>People tell Akaashi and Bokuto that they act like a married couple a lot of the time, but neither of them really felt that way initially.  But once that thought was put into their brains by their teammates, it was hard, especially for Akaashi, to not see all of the nuance in their interaction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Akaashi opened the door to the gym, he stood in confusion as all of Fukurodani, besides him and Bokuto, sat around the tape recorder, listening to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you guys try to record another tape?” Akaashi asked as he walked into the gym.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Konoha replied. “We’re still trying to figure out who this one is.  The dude’s got a good voice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Akaashi, you’re the brains of the team,” Washio pointed out. “Why don’t you have a go at it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi shook his head. “I’m normally not that good at this stuff,” he told them dismissively. “I hope you guys figure it out though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he was saying this, Bokuto opened the door and strutted into the gym eagerly. “Hey hey hey!!” he said in his typical Bokuto fashion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said, greeting him. “How was your day?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Normal,” he replied. “Let’s play some volleyball!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the team got up from their tape recorder listening circle and went to grab the net and balls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Practice went on without a hitch, and after eating dinner, Akaashi and Bokuto met at a park between their homes.  The sun was setting, making the sky look lavender in color with orange clouds reflecting light from the sun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Akaashi arrived, he looked around and saw Bokuto sitting on top of a hill, waiting for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Akaashi!” he yelled with a wave. “Over here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi walked over to him as his stomach did somersaults, making him nauseous. “Hi, Bokuto-san.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what do you wanna do?” Bokuto asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just talk, I guess.  We could always walk somewhere later,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you wanna talk about?  Your singing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, sure, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re really good at singing, Akaashi,” Bokuto began. “I don’t know if people can sound that good naturally sometimes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“After I heard the recording the first time a couple days ago, I figured out it was you, so I wanted to go check it out for myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you were right,” Akaashi continued, finishing Bokuto’s thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he replied. “It’s really a pretty voice, Akaashi.  You should try to use it more!  But why were you singing all of those sad songs?  Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really,” he replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to talk about it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should talk to people about that stuff,” Bokuto replied. “Here, talk to me.  I’ll listen to you,” he continued. “I’m one of the people you’re closest with, I think.  And I care about you. Tell me what’s up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi sighed. “Well, do you ever like someone and you don’t think that you like them back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto paused for a moment. “Yeah, sometimes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m kinda in that right now with someone,” Akaashi continued. “They’re so nice, energetic, strong, bright, eager, and happy.  They keep bringing me up when I feel down and are just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I can’t stop thinking about them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I kinda get that,” Bokuto replied. “I’m kinda in that too.  The person I like right now doesn’t seem to show a lot of emotions, but they show their kindness with their actions more than their words.  They always bring me out of my slumps and keep me going.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you get it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess so,” Bokuto answered. “I’m not sure how much you feel it, probably a lot based on how you were singing, but I feel it too, just not as much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should agree to make a move on them,” Akaashi added. “Starting now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi and Bokuto shook hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to teach you to sing?” Akaashi asked. “It might help you pick up that person you like.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Bokuto replied. “Can I pick a song?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto pulled out his phone and took a deep breath.  He opened Spotify and typed “Take Me to Church” in the search bar and pressed on the song by Hozier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi was taken aback by this. “Bokuto-san, this is a really hard song to sing.  Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I tried to sing it a few times in the shower when my parents weren’t home,” he replied. “I can kinda do the chorus and the bridges but the verses are a mess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you choose this song? You know what it’s about, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Bokuto replied with a deadpan expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi’s heart started racing.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He could be talking about me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it’s for a guy, that you have a crush on?” Akaashi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi paused for a moment. “Me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bokuto was silent for a moment. Meanwhile, his thoughts were racing.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Akaashi likes guys… he could’ve been talking about me</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“You like guys?” Bokuto asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… ” Bokuto was trying to process all of this in his head. “You said the guy you like is really happy and strong and fun to be around all the time.  And you say these things to me… so, Akaashi, do you like me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi started internally panicking. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He knows, he knows.  What if he doesn’t like me back? Why didn’t I say anything first, I’m so stupid!</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath to re-compose himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Bokuto-san.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy crap,” Bokuto muttered to himself.  He turned to Akaashi again. “That’s wild… because I like you too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they hugged each other, the chorus of “Take Me to Church” played in the empty park.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Take me to church,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Offer me that deathless death,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Good God, let me give you my life.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bokuto smiled as he leaned his head on Akaashi’s shoulder. “I can’t believe this,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akaashi nodded. “Me neither.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to go out Saturday?” Bokuto asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure,” Akaashi replied. “Just keep it lowkey, would you?  I don’t want my parents to know I’m dating a guy yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same here, don’t worry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With that, Bokuto and Akaashi sat in the dark with music playing in the background for hours.  It wasn’t until 10:00 that they ended up leaving each other to go home.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That night, Akaashi and Bokuto dreamed of each other.  The next morning, they couldn’t stop looking at each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On their first date a few days later, Bokuto couldn’t stop smiling.  Akaashi couldn’t stop blushing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both of them just had the feeling that they were meant to be together.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>that's a wrap for bokuaka week!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>